Bought this 2000 Millenia S for my 16 yr old son two year ago. CEL came on after a week. Used dealer reset it. Came back. One thing led to another and it started fading when it was warmed up, flashing CEL, etc. Mazda dealer says it needs a new timing system. I challenge this because it starts fine and fines great for the first ten minute. Well, $2,200 for all new timing components and it behaves exactly the same way when we get it back. Another $1,400 for catalytic converters - Now I have almost $10,000 in a $4,000 car.

Ran okay for a year. Then the lights start flashing light a pin ball machine again. Put it back in the Mazda dealer and they want $4,400 to change plugs, 2 coils, broken front sway bar, new left axle boot, right axle seal, transaxle pan gasket leak, and rotating the tires.

I invited them to have relations with themselves. Bought plugs(yes the correct ones after getting educated by Keninn), coils(3), Trans kit, sway bar, two new axles, oil cooler seal(they missed this one - it was leaking significantly), and God knows what else.

I have four kids and bought them each a used car. I had always preached the virtues of a Japanese car. This is the only one we own and it utterly and completely is the biggest POS I could possibly imagine. The Ford Escape, Chrysler Sebring convertible and the VW Jetta the other kids have have been flawless.

Just got the Millenia all back together about 20 minutes ago and go for a drive. Runs great for about 10 minutes. Then I get both TCM and TCM OFF lights on and it goes into "limp home" mode. CEL comes on, I get a code of P1540. If I roll in nuetral and turn off ignition and restart the car the TCM lights go off and the car runs fine again- CEL stays on.

I'm afraid to even ask. I'm ready to put a match in the gas tank.

What is P1540?

Keninn, I know you'll see this and respond. I read a few other threads after I posted this and found your suggestions that similar problems experienced by others are caused by the "vacuum solenoid that lives on the right bank" I have the colorful vacuum system diagram and don't see a "vacuum solenoid" per ce. The diagram shows MAP Sensor solenoid, PRC solenoid, CAC Bypass solenoid, ABV solenoid(vacuum & vent), EGR solenoid(vacuum & vent), Bypass Air solenoid and a Purge solenoid. Are you targeting one of these?

 

it is the abv solenoids, vacuum and vent. they live in a row of 4, from the passenger side, the second from the right, and the 4th from the right. 4th is the vacuum, and that one goes bad more than the vent, but if you change one, you should change the other. you can go ahead and ohm them, but if the car has over 100k, it is only a matter of time.
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be prepared to replace some broke tees. by now they are really brittle. i would have some silicon vacuum line handy, too. places that sell stuff for turbos have the line. personally, i like road race engineering:Road///Race Engineering Mitsubishi Eclipse Parts and Performance. their prices will be fair, but they have the best service out there. at first, i used some plastic tees that i took off my mitsubishi galant, they worked excellent. later on, i replaced them with brass ones from a group buy. i hear ww grainger has them. feel free to call me if you have more questions 940 482 1844.

 

Just installed the new solenoids and drove the car in various conditions for about 50 miles. No lights, no stalls, no limping home - it is running perfect.

Finally!!

Now, I did notice the A/C is not blowing cold air. What is the likelihood that a can of refrigerant from the parts store will fix that problem?

 

Im about to buy a 1998 Mazda Millenia...87k on it and it appears to be in good shape. Can anyone advise me as to what to look for etc. I am going to take it to a mechanic but you all may have insights that a non-Mazda person may not have.
Thanks
detrfree@gmail.com

 

excellent!!!

the a/c pushbuttons/amplifier is a problem area on this car. since it is climate control, it could be that the amplifier is not allowing the cold air blende door to open. you need to somehow verify it is low on freon, or it is an electrical problem. when you turn on the a/c, open the hood and feel the a/c lines, if both are hot, then you probably have a freon problem. but the pb/amp is far more common. they are easy to replace, and they are on ebay all the time. the pricing is not as good as it used to be, i would expect to pay no more than 50 bucks for a good used one. the pushbuttons are attached to the amplifier by screws, make sure you get both. and there is one for up to 2001 my, and another for 2001 and later. the later ones are color coded, the early ones are all black

 

If the CEL is on, or worse - flashing, be afraid. Be very afraid. Run as fast as you can. These things are a nightmare for ignition and vacuum problems.

Two years ago I paid $5,500 for a "nice" 2000 Millenia S and I have since invested $5,300 on catalytic converters, timing system(including dealer labor), axles, plugs, coils, solenoids, oil cooler seal, etc.

Actually a great running car now, but the repair costs sneak up on you and eat you from the inside out.

 

Kennin, I did as you said and they big line was hot at first and by the time I figured out that the little aluminum line is the second line I felt both and they felt "warm" - not hot. Does that mean freon or should I buy a module?

 

dont jump the gun yet. it could be the compressor isnt turning on. this could be a lot of different reasons. bad compressor, low on freon, a/c amplifier, relay, yada, yada. you need to find out if the compressor is ok, and if there is enough freon. can you tell if the clutch on the compressor is kicking on? you should hear a pretty loud click, then rumbling if the clutch is working. right after that, the small alum line should get cold. if that aint happening, you can try hotwiring the clutch, and manually turning it on, check for cold. dont leave it on for very long, tho. if the clutch is coming on, and no cold, then probably freon is low, and that means a leak. and them are really hard to find, you will need a sniffer. if it does get cold, then possibly the amplifier is bad, not telling the clutch to engage, or it could be a bad sensor. it can get complicated. if you know a good a/c shop, you might want to take it there. a/c is pretty straightforward, and basically the same on all cars, nothing strange on the millenia

 

Keninn the compressor definitely is not kicking in. I found the 10A AC fuse down in the kick panel and it looks good. How do I go about hotwiring the clutch? Can't see the compressor very well - is this done from under the car? Where do I find the relay and the amplifier for the compressor/clutch?

 

i have never done this on our millenias. i know the compressor is buried, look for the wire going into the clutch. that is what you need. but if it aint kicking on, something is telling it not to, or possible the clutch is dead. this system is pretty hardy, i would bet you have a bad sensor, or maybe amp, and so no power is going to the compressor clutch